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I still keep score when using the old clubs. I like demonstrating to myself how little my scores change when i pull out the lumber.

Amen to that, Brother!
It's actually hard to really show how different the score would be, but I've had rounds when I've been hitting the persimmons well and shot high 70s, then had rounds when I've been swinging the new woods well, and scored in the high seventies. Maybe one or two shots lower at most, if that.

I still keep score when using the old clubs. I like demonstrating to myself how little my scores change when i pull out the lumber.

Amen to that, Brother!
It's actually hard to really show how different the score would be, but I've had rounds when I've been hitting the persimmons well and shot high 70s, then had rounds when I've been swinging the new woods well, and scored in the high seventies. Maybe one or two shots lower at most, if that.

And on top of that.... My longest drive of 2016 was with a Ping Zing Blonde laminate. I only played the Zing Blondes for a month to six weeks that year, not like it was one amongst a full season of lumber usage. (edit: autocorrect is a pain)

I've posted that before, but I think it bears repeating. There's a line of thought that using persimmons, or even older blades, means the scores will devolve from what one might see with more modern sticks. I don't believe that's necessarily true. It may be, but I think it depends on each individual.

I still keep score when using the old clubs. I like demonstrating to myself how little my scores change when i pull out the lumber.

Amen to that, Brother!
It's actually hard to really show how different the score would be, but I've had rounds when I've been hitting the persimmons well and shot high 70s, then had rounds when I've been swinging the new woods well, and scored in the high seventies. Maybe one or two shots lower at most, if that.

And on top of that.... My longest drive of 2016 was with a Ping Zing Blonde laminate. I only played the Zing Blondes for a month to six weeks that year, not like it was one amongst a full season of limber usage.

I've posted that before, but I think it bears repeating. There's a line of thought that using persimmons, or even older blades, means the scores will devolve from what one might see with more modern sticks. I don't believe that's necessarily true. It may be, but I think it depends on each individual.

I still keep score when using the old clubs. I like demonstrating to myself how little my scores change when i pull out the lumber.

Amen to that, Brother!
It's actually hard to really show how different the score would be, but I've had rounds when I've been hitting the persimmons well and shot high 70s, then had rounds when I've been swinging the new woods well, and scored in the high seventies. Maybe one or two shots lower at most, if that.

And on top of that.... My longest drive of 2016 was with a Ping Zing Blonde laminate. I only played the Zing Blondes for a month to six weeks that year, not like it was one amongst a full season of lumber usage. (edit: autocorrect is a pain)

I've posted that before, but I think it bears repeating. There's a line of thought that using persimmons, or even older blades, means the scores will devolve from what one might see with more modern sticks. I don't believe that's necessarily true. It may be, but I think it depends on each individual.

I will agree 100% on the statement of it depending on the individual. i actually hit the ball and score better with classic blades because they fit my eye , I have been playing them most of my life and the feel is there for me.I do not have any feel and control with modern CBs even if they are forged. Now with the persimmons it depends on the course and the distances involved. I am not going to say I hit the persimmons as far as I do a modern metal wood. Control is about the same now that my SS has slowed. In reality since I play classic blades as my gamer set there is really no difference when I go all vintage just a different set and year of irons usually Macgregor. Instead of my cheating hybrid I carry a persimmon 4 wood and 5 wood. If I go to the forward tees on my home course I usually shoot about the same strictly vintage as I do with the bag for all seasons as Randy puts it. Now I do change up on wedges and putters between the two sets part of my fun.

Edit I will say another thing and again like you said it depends on the individual. I have a friend of mine who hits an old Eye2 Laminate 3 wood and he is long long with it. Actually his wife bought him the newest TM driver one year at Christmas. He hits that laminate 3 wood longer than he hits any modern driver. Proved it up at Golfsmith in Myrtle on the simulator. Had those guys scratching their heads. I actually had one from the old shop stock I gave him for a back up. Trust me if one hits the thrifts or used club shops in this area he snatches it up in a hurry if he sees it. I think he has as many zing and Eye2 laminate 3 woods now than I have 588 wedges

I still keep score when using the old clubs. I like demonstrating to myself how little my scores change when i pull out the lumber.

Amen to that, Brother!
It's actually hard to really show how different the score would be, but I've had rounds when I've been hitting the persimmons well and shot high 70s, then had rounds when I've been swinging the new woods well, and scored in the high seventies. Maybe one or two shots lower at most, if that.

And on top of that.... My longest drive of 2016 was with a Ping Zing Blonde laminate. I only played the Zing Blondes for a month to six weeks that year, not like it was one amongst a full season of lumber usage. (edit: autocorrect is a pain)

I've posted that before, but I think it bears repeating. There's a line of thought that using persimmons, or even older blades, means the scores will devolve from what one might see with more modern sticks. I don't believe that's necessarily true. It may be, but I think it depends on each individual.

Are the Zing woods easier to hit than say a Powebilt Citation? I want to play a wooden driver but sheer all I’m hitting are low heelers..

Iíll take ^ this one, having played both considerably.
For myself, the Blonde Ping Maple Laminate fairway woods and a Persimmon Citation driver would give you the best of both worlds.
As stated before, finding a real wood to fit your game can be a frustrating experience. But, either of these head designs are tried and true, so, which shaft suits your game better?

I have a brand new Citation that a member here built for me about a decade ago or so. Rifle steel shaft.

It's been a few years since I swung it, but the last time I did I was only about 15-20 yards or so shorter than my then current Titleist titanium driver. People at the range were just standing there watching me hit that thing.

I need to find a set of late 80s Staff Tour Blades (to match my set of persimmons I still have) and go play some real clubs again.

I have a brand new Citation that a member here built for me about a decade ago or so. Rifle steel shaft.

It's been a few years since I swung it, but the last time I did I was only about 15-20 yards or so shorter than my then current Titleist titanium driver. People at the range were just standing there watching me hit that thing.

I need to find a set of late 80s Staff Tour Blades (to match my set of persimmons I still have) and go play some real clubs again.

I was cranking one of my old Pennas on the range the other day--- This one has a regular shaft in it and I think it is going to be my front line classic gamer. I was hitting it about 220 or so with a little controlled draw which is saying a lot for me. But I was hitting it solid and it had that certain whack to it. The tourist golfers were looking. Of course I got the standard comment from one. "If you had a metal driver you could really hit a ball" I told him I have several including a Homna and a 915 D-2 Titleist. " Well why are you hitting that wooden antique?" My standard answer BECAUSE I STILL CAN!!!!!! Lots of times I throw one of the persimmon drivers in the bag when I practice. It helps my ball striking. I figure if I can hit the face reasonably good on a 300 CC persimmon then a "toaster on a stick" as Randy (OSR) puts it is a no brainer.

I have a brand new Citation that a member here built for me about a decade ago or so. Rifle steel shaft.

It's been a few years since I swung it, but the last time I did I was only about 15-20 yards or so shorter than my then current Titleist titanium driver. People at the range were just standing there watching me hit that thing.

I need to find a set of late 80s Staff Tour Blades (to match my set of persimmons I still have) and go play some real clubs again.

The late 80ís remakes are okay, but, if you want 80ish Wilsonís I think the fg17 would be the ticket.

I have a brand new Citation that a member here built for me about a decade ago or so. Rifle steel shaft.

It's been a few years since I swung it, but the last time I did I was only about 15-20 yards or so shorter than my then current Titleist titanium driver. People at the range were just standing there watching me hit that thing.

I need to find a set of late 80s Staff Tour Blades (to match my set of persimmons I still have) and go play some real clubs again.

The late 80's remakes are okay, but, if you want 80ish Wilson's I think the fg17 would be the ticket.

I never hit any of the remakes, but yea I think a nice set of FG-17s might do it.

I don't know if I can put a good enough swing on them anymore, but it would be fun to try.

It drives my wife nuts that i all ways take score. I think there was one round last years with out getting my crayon out to scribble a number down. Maybe next time out with the classics i won't scribble anything down?
JB

I almost always play by myself amd I keep score mostly as a measurement of my progress. Sometimes if the day is particularly lousy I will start playing practice shots, etc as the round becomes a practice round.

Tracking score (in relation to par like +1, E, -1, -2, etc) fairways and greens in regulation, and putts helps me to stay focused. When the round is over the card goes in the trash. I haven't created a spreadsheet yet. Maybe next season.

Fixation on score however can be detrimental as I have learned this year. There seems to be a delicate balance between wanting to enjoy the round and wanting to always be improving. Scores go in waves and cycles, and so much depends on mental preparations, mood, personal problems, health, conditioning, diet, and equipment. Better to roll with the changes and accept that there will be rounds that are just stupidly easy and others that are just plain stupid.

I am trying to find that balance, as I am suffering from instructional information overload. But in general I have been treating every alone round as a quasi-practice round in preparation for the times when I play with a partner(s). So far results are mixed...

I almost always play by myself amd I keep score mostly as a measurement of my progress. Sometimes if the day is particularly lousy I will start playing practice shots, etc as the round becomes a practice round.

Tracking score (in relation to par like +1, E, -1, -2, etc) fairways and greens in regulation, and putts helps me to stay focused. When the round is over the card goes in the trash. I haven't created a spreadsheet yet. Maybe next season.

Fixation on score however can be detrimental as I have learned this year. There seems to be a delicate balance between wanting to enjoy the round and wanting to always be improving. Scores go in waves and cycles, and so much depends on mental preparations, mood, personal problems, health, conditioning, diet, and equipment. Better to roll with the changes and accept that there will be rounds that are just stupidly easy and others that are just plain stupid.

I am trying to find that balance, as I am suffering from instructional information overload. But in general I have been treating every alone round as a quasi-practice round in preparation for the times when I play with a partner(s). So far results are mixed...

I can relate D. In the ongoing effort to improve ball striking, often have to many swing thoughts rolling around in my head while attempting to play. Do this, try that, take away on a certain plane, extension, etc. To the point that I became a basket case and cannot execute. "Instructional information overload". When this occurs, have to perform a mental reset. Purge all swing thoughts and "Just hit the damn ball". A line that Big Stu infamously dropped while I was chattering on about swing planes and related swing things some time ago. And he was exactly right.

All of us have enough basic understanding of what is required to hit a golf ball. No doubt there are changes that can be made to execute more effectively. And it's a good thing to try and work on improvements. But I'm also a believer that sometimes, we should clear our heads of such thoughts and let our innate natural abilities take over. Because over thinking creates tension, and tension is not good thing when it comes to striking a golf ball. Let it flow and just hit the damn ball. Chase it down and try to do it better with the next swing.

Which sort of leads into the premise of this thread. Playing classic clubs and score. Playing classic wood and blade is exclusively a solo endeavor. By preference. No performance pressure placed on myself because there is no one there to observe. Just myself, out on a course, trying to utilize clubs that are likely beyond my skill set. To hit the singular, "Oh yeah! That's pretty sweet" good shot. Then attempting to do it again. Score becomes a meaningless concept. As I'm not playing for score as a chronicler of how well I may be performing. I can see how well a singular shot was executed. How well a hole was played out. Without needing to write down a number as a means of validation.

And that's how I approach playing classic wood and blade. Try and make each shot a good one. If not, then the next one. Play each hole as an entity onto itself. Not as a continuum of 18, with a number at the end that denotes whether it was a successful endeavor. Find it rather liberating. Remember the good shots, the well struck ball with persimmon, the iron shot from afar that finds the green, the hole that may have been par'd. All the not so good ones are quickly forgotten. No pressure. Who am I trying to impress with whatever golfing abilities I may possess? There to enjoy myself. Have fun with it. No expectations, therefore no disappointments.

I still keep score when using the old clubs. I like demonstrating to myself how little my scores change when i pull out the lumber.

Amen to that, Brother!
It's actually hard to really show how different the score would be, but I've had rounds when I've been hitting the persimmons well and shot high 70s, then had rounds when I've been swinging the new woods well, and scored in the high seventies. Maybe one or two shots lower at most, if that.

And on top of that.... My longest drive of 2016 was with a Ping Zing Blonde laminate. I only played the Zing Blondes for a month to six weeks that year, not like it was one amongst a full season of lumber usage. (edit: autocorrect is a pain)

I've posted that before, but I think it bears repeating. There's a line of thought that using persimmons, or even older blades, means the scores will devolve from what one might see with more modern sticks. I don't believe that's necessarily true. It may be, but I think it depends on each individual.

I find I am much more consistent with the old equipment. I manage my game and the course much better. I think it makes golf a lot more fun. You can really get back to the art of playing golf again when distance stops being an obsession. I don't think about flying bunkers, cutting dog-leg corners, or blasting short irons at tucked pins with the classic equipment. I think about shaping shots and where my miss will leave me. I might not shoot lower scores with the old gear, but I certainly don't have as many scorecard killing holes or stretches of holes.

I love this topic because I am a classic club believer. Not really as far as the woods go but I have played older iron sets pretty much exclusively most of my golfing life and have a mentality that playing a club that’s harder to hit or less forgiving is going to make me a better player. I admit it does take a pure stroke to get a score worth writing down with the old blades but for me that’s the point. all the bad shots are.. or should be.. well learned lessons. You don’t get away with much using them but you’ll always know where you struck the ball which to me is priceless info and aids me in making adjustments to improve my game. I’ve been gaming some Hogan 76’ Apex irons aince this season began, I really enjoy proving to the hotshots who fill their bag with super new and expensive clubs that there’s more to the game than having fancy new equipment and the old clubs when wielded properly can stand up to just about any of the high tech “advanced” clubs. So far I’ve been able to hold my own and am usually a few shots from breaking par. On the other hand though I feel like if I could actually afford some fancy new clubs I might have a crack at the tour hahaha... ok maybe club championship is more realistic but my point is when you go from old to new you are gonna kill it where as if you only play new you get away with too many bad shots and your swing goes lazy. If you want to improve and think you have the ability to do so I say give yourself at least a couple weeks of old blade play, oh and to answer the original question: keeping score isn’t important, it’s getting a score you wanna keep that matters and that takes dedication, if you don’t have that then leave the pencil at home and go have fun cuz that’s great too. I always start off keeping score haha can’t say it ends that way though.

Is keeping score overrated sometimes? Sure it is. LIke everyone, I've had my share of scrappy rounds where the score has flattered my play - and rounds where I've been really happy with how I've hit the ball, though the score hasn't been anything notable. Sure, I believe that these things even out over the long term, but since you can only enjoy one round at a time you also need to keep a short term perspective.

Does it make sense to let a couple of bad bounces, or bad decisions, or reads, or swings spoil your enjoyment of your round? I don't think so. I'm a (barely) single digit golfer who knows that he can easily rack up 6 penalty shots in a round, at which point, playing to my handicap becomes pretty unlikely. Better find ways to enjoy those kinds of round based on something other than score.

On the other hand, if I never kept score, I'd probably never practice putting and I'd pay scant attention to my short game. There's pleasure to be had in executing those parts of the game well - but score is what reminds me to look there.

I don't have a modern set so all my golf includes persimmon and blades. Keeping a score is as much part of golf as putting is to me. I am unable to just play a couple of holes without keeping score, even when playing multiple balls. Ideally i lose track of the exact (total) score after a couple of holes (and discover i scored very well only when i fill in my card at the end of the round), because when focussing (too much) on score i usually start to think too much ("i'm only 1 over after 12 if i play this hole safe i might be able to birdie the next, and...") which always has a negative effect.